TheGameConsole.com: Sony Video Game Consoles Sony Video Game Consoles Sony PlayStation Released September 1995 Nintendo asked Sony to develop a CD-ROM add-on called "PlayStation" for the SNES. Because Sony wanted 25% of all profits Nintendo earned from sales of this PlayStation and all PlayStation games, after Sony revealed that they were developing it, Nintendo instead went to Philips. This caused Sony to consider abandoning their research, however instead they used what they had developed so far and made it into a full blown console. This led to Nintendo filing a lawsuit claiming breach of contract and attempted, in U.S. federal court, to obtain an injunction against the release of the PlayStation, on the grounds that Nintendo owned the name. The federal judge presiding over the case denied the injunction. The PlayStation was launched in Japan on December 3, 1994, the USA on September 9, 1995 and Europe on September 29, 1995. In America, Sony enjoyed a very successful launch with titles of almost every genre including Toshinden, Twisted Metal, Warhawk, and Ridge Racer.

Almost all of Sony 's and Namco's launch titles went on to produce numerous sequels. History of Sony PlayStation History of Sony PlayStation By Mary Bellis Updated August 16, 2016. The PlayStation was the first video game console to sell over 100 million units. How did Sony Interactive Entertainment manage to score a home run on its first foray into the video game market? Sony and Nintendo The history of the PlayStation begins in 1988 when Sony and Nintendo were working together to develop the Super Disc. Nintendo was the leading in computer gaming at that time. Sony had not yet entered the home video game market but they were eager to make a move. By teaming with the market leader, they believed they had the best chance of success. The Super Disc was going to be a CD-ROM attachment that was intended to be part of Nintendo's soon to be released Super Nintendo game. However, Sony and Nintendo parted ways business-wise as Nintendo decided to use Philips as a partner instead. The Super Disc was never introduced or used by Nintendo. In 1991, Sony used a modified version of the Super Disk as part of their new game console - the Sony Playstation.

Research and development for the PlayStation had begun in 1990, headed by Sony engineer, Ken Kutaragi. It was shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in June 1991 but the next day was the day that Nintendo announced they were going to use Philips instead. Kutaragi was tasked with further developing the PlayStation to beat Nintendo. Only two hundred models of the first Play Station (that could play Super Nintendo game cartridges) were manufactured by Sony. The original Playstation was designed as a multi-media and multi-purpose entertainment unit. Besides being able to play Super Nintendo games, the Play Station could play audio CDs and could read CDs with computer and video information. However, these prototypes were scrapped. Developing the PlayStation Kutaragi developed games in a 3D polygon graphics format. Not everyone at Sony approved of the PlayStation project, and it was decided to shift the project to Sony Music in 1992, which was a separate entity. They further spun off to form Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. (SCEI) in 1993. The new company attracted developers and partners including Electronic Arts and Namco, who were excited about the 3D-capable, CD-ROM based console.

It was easier and cheaper to manufacture CD-ROM compared with the cartridges used by Nintendo. Release of the PlayStation In 1994, the new PlayStation X (PSX) was released that was no longer compatible with Nintendo game cartridges and only played CD-ROM based games. This was a smart move that soon made PlayStations the bestselling game console. The console was a slim, gray unit and the PSX joypad allowed far more control than the pads of the Sega Saturn competitor. It sold more than 300,000 units in the first month of sales in Japan. The PlayStation was introduced to the United States at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles in May, 1995. They presold over 100,000 units by the September US launch. Within a year they had sold almost 2 million units in the United States and over 7 million worldwide. They reached the milestone of 100 million units by the end of 2003.

Evolution of Home Video Game Consoles: 1967 – 2011 - Hongkiat Evolution of Home Video Game Consoles: 1967 – 2011 Published by Michael Poh , in Culture Video gaming has come a long way since the early days of Pong and Pac-man. We can now play affordable games of high calibre with 3D graphics and awesome interactivity in the comfort of our home, taking for granted the little and subtle improvements made to each and every consoles before becoming what they are today. In a way, the aggressive competition between companies of video game consoles had churned out the superior features of video gaming to bring to us the excellent quality we see today. As you shall see below, the evolution of video game consoles is indeed intriguing. Did you know that there were more than 70 different consoles to date? And did you know that there was a peak era of video arcade game when Nintendo and Sega were fiercely pitting against each other with their revolutionary consoles? If you are amazed by such facts, then I guarantee that this entry will excite you even further with the bits and pieces of fascinating historical facts across the video game consoles timeline.

Whether you’re a gamer or not, this is a great opportunity for you to go behind the scene and uncover the ‘making’ of present-day consoles! 1967 The first video game console (working prototype) debuted as a bulky rectangular brown wooden box with two attached controllers, and thus the name “Brown Box”. Invented by Ralph H. Baer (1922 – ), also known as “The Father of Video Games”, he developed the brown video game console such that it can be hooked up with any ordinary TV sets. There were only six simple games for the console, namely ping-pong, tennis, handball, volleyball, chase games and a light-gun game. “Brown Box” (1967) 1972 The demonstration of the “Brown Box” led to the licensing of the technology by Magnavox in 1972, resulting in the release of the first official home video game console – Magnavox Odyssey. Just as the earliest films do not feature recorded sound, the first video game console is silent as well, with graphics which we would consider very primitive by today’s standard.

Magnavox Odyssey (1972) 1975 – 1977 Atari’s PONG arcade machine was so popular in 1973 that Atari decided to market the game as a home console two years later in 1975. In that same year, Magnavox decided to improve its Odyssey system and released not one, but two different improved versions of the original console, the Magnavox Odyssey 100 and 200. From 1976-77, a series of Magnavox Odyssey consoles were produced, with each new console only slightly better than the previous one. The consoles basically had the same games within, but with some modification to the graphics, controllers and digital on-screen scoring. Unsurprisingly, Atari came up with new consoles such as the highly-acclaimed Atari 2600, Video Pinball and Stunt Cycle to compete with Magnavox. New companies such as Fairchild, RCA and Coleco also jumped on the bandwagon, creating consoles of their own to grab a piece of the pie.

The Wonder Wizard by General Home Products was even said to be pretty much the same as the Odyssey 300 by Magnavox, other than having better and larger paddle controllers. Fairchild and RCA didn’t meet with much success with their first and only consoles while Coleco’s first video game system, Telstar, was well-received for its capability to play games in colour and for having different difficulty levels. As a result of its popularity, a number of fresh consoles from Coleco soon sprang up in the market from 1977-78. Magnavox Odyssey 4000 (1977) 1978 – 1980 Nintendo, the company which eventually became a major player in the video gaming industry for the next three decades, delivered their first series of video game console from 1977 to 1979. The Color TV Game Series were only for sale in Japan. These consoles essentially followed in the footsteps of Atari and featured Pong-style games. Once again, there were a few newcomers to the market but they were met with limited success. Bally Astrocade came about in 1977 and was celebrated for its superior graphic capabilities.

For some reason, it did not last long. Mattel introduced its Intellivision console in 1979, which actually intimidated Atari 2600 with its exceptional capabilities. Coleco continued with its line of consoles of all sorts, in an attempt to pit against the mighty Atari 2600. Coleco had consoles for playing shooting, car racing and pinball games. Similarly, Magnavox persisted on with a few more upgraded consoles of its own, but they were inherently Pong consoles that play Pong-based games. Philips, having bought Magnavox in 1974, developed some variations of Magnavox Odyssey’s models as well. Regardless, Atari 2600 remained at the top owing to its cartridge-based console equipped with better graphics and games. Mattel’s Intellivison (1979) 1981 – 1985 The golden age of video gaming has arrived! With progressively advanced gaming technology,the 1980s was a period of genre innovation when the industry began experimenting with non-Pong games like fighting, platform, adventure and RPG games.

It is also this era that we saw the release of all-time classic games such as Pac-man (1980), Mario Bros (1983), The Legend of Zelda (1986), Final Fantasy (1987), Golden Axe (1988), etc. There was also a major shift from dedicated consoles (with built-in games) to cartridge-based video game systems. Both Sega and Nintendo dominated the video gaming scene in that decade. The first console ever released by Sega was the SG-1000 in 1983. It was not exactly well-known since it was mostly distributed in Asia and never launched in North America. However, that machine laid the foundation for its top-notch successor in 1985, the Sega Master System. Nevertheless, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) revealed in 1983 emerged victorious as the best-selling console of that generation. It is even fair to say that the NES single-handedly raised Nintendo to a company easily identified with gaming.

Companies within the video game consoles market like Atari, Mattel and Coleco released new consoles, Atari 5200, Intellivision II and ColecoVision, respectively, but these were not comparable with the popularity of Sega and Nintendo. In fact, ColecoVision was the last home video game console Coleco released. They dominated the home video gaming market until they were dethroned by NES when it was introduced to the US and UK market a year after the 1984 video game industry crash. As a result of the crash, ColecoVision ended up as the last console released by Coleco. Meanwhile, a few new and unheard consoles were brought to the market by hopeful companies, only to be overwhelmed by the intense competition between the Sega Master System and NES. (Thanks Jared for pointing out the error in this paragraph) Sega Master System (1985) 1986 – 1990 As the struggle for domination continues between Nintendo and Sega, each of them released brand new consoles to challenge each other’s positions. Sega came up with the its number one console of all time, the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1988.

To counter the threat, Nintendo presented the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) two years later, the console next in line after NES. Sega released the Master System II in the very same year after gaining significant success with Mega Drive/Genesis. This was the major console war that occured in the 80s. Atari was slowly slipping out of the console market despite yet another undertaking in its latest system, the Atari 7800. The draw was that it offered backward compatibility with the phenomenal Atari 2600, allowing players to enjoy classic games of the past. Newcomer TurboGrafx-16 by NEC tried to target both Sega Genesis and Nintendo’s SNES and NES consoles but was ultimately overtaken by them in 1991, ranking fourth in the video game market. An enhanced version, the SuperGrafx (1989), was also not well-received. SNK Neo Geo, already famous for its arcade machines production, went ahead to bring the arcade experience to home video game consoles in 1990.

The Neo Geo AES (Advanced Entertainment System) was equipped with remarkable graphics thanks to the larger size of the games, which consequently led to the pricey tag (the console costs more than 800 dollars, while each game piece over 200 dollars). It is for this reason that the public’s reception of the first Neo Geo console was less than great. Super Nintendo Entertainment System (1990) 1991 – 1993 In the first few years of 1990s, there is a notable shift in the medium used for storing games from cartridges to compact discs. What this meant was that there were increased capacities for video gaming, prompting as well a transition of 2D graphics to that of 3D. The first CD console was launched by Philips (1991) – the CD-i. Regrettably, the console was more commonly recognized as a failure for its sub-standard games and frustrating controllers. In 1992, NEC TurboGrafx-16 was upgraded to the TurboGrafx-CD to meet the demands of CD-based consoles. But again, it lost itself to Sega Genesis/MegaDrive with its latest add-on, the Sega CD.

Atari made its last console appearance with their CD-based Atari Jaguar in 1993, which was meant to contest against the other 16-bit consoles like the Sega Genesis and SNES. It then found itself losing the console battle with more advanced next generation console like the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation a year later. Commodore, a US-based home computer manufacturer, gained entry into the market with its very own Amiga CD32 (1993). Sadly, it was only for a brief few months before Commodore declared bankrupcy in 1994, thus prematurely ending the sales of a video game console with some potential. Commodore Amiga CD32 (1993) 1994 – 1997 In 1994, Sony finally made its entrance with the leading Playstation. Sega At the same time, Sega with its immense success of its MegaDrive/Genesis system, went on to expand it into a series, with the Genesis 2 (1994) and Genesis 3 (1997). It also developed an entirely new console, Saturn, to rival against the rest of the CD-based consoles.

Nintendo, on the other hand, stuck to its cartridge system for its new Nintendo 64. SNK Neo Geo moved on with a CD-based console in 1994. Having learnt their lesson for putting a costly tag for their console and games, the Neo Geo CD console costed $300 while its games costed around $50, which were sharp drops from its previous AES system. NEC now exhibited its new PC-FX, which looked more like a desktop CPU than a console. The technology they utilized was outdated when compared to that of Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation, hence what followed was that the console was phased out and NEC no longer produced home consoles. During this time, there were also many other consoles which most of us would not have heard of. Bandai, Casio and even Apple came up with their own consoles. The Virtual Boy by Nintendo, launched in 1995, consisted of a head-mounted display to view 3D graphics. Sega Genesis 3 (1997) 1998 – 2004 Sega Saturn was not a major success, so Sega thought of another new console for the next generation – the Sega Dreamcast (1998).

In terms of providing internet support via its built-in modem for online playing, Dreamcast was the pioneer back in 1998. Two years later, Sony progressed on with the next Playstation, the Playstation 2. In 2001, Nintendo switched its cartridge-based Nintendo 64 to a DVD-ROM GameCube. That very same year, we saw Microsoft entered in the video game console industry in 2001 with its well-received Xbox, which featured online gaming service as well, the Xbox Live. Now that the industry is stabilized after three decades of experimenting with all sorts of consoles, there were rarely any entry attempts by fresh companies. Interestingly enough, there is one XaviXPORT in 2004 that is relatively unheard of. The console uses cartridges and have controllers which looked like sports equipments to interact with on-screen games. It was basically used for working out and keeping fit. Kind of reminds us of the existing Nintendo Wii, doesn’t it? XaviXPORT (2004) 2005 – 2011 (Today) Finally, the current generation of video game console only has room for three major competitors: Xbox 360, Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii.

With full 1080p HD graphics for both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, and Wii’s innovative remote for sensing 3D movements, it seems that video gaming had indeed came a long, long way. In addition to these, all three consoles had expanded with add-ons such as the MotionPlus for Wii (2009), Kinect (2010) for Xbox 360 and Move (2010) for Playstation 3. These three add-ons similarly involved the capability to sense physical motion accurately, enhancing the interactive experience for players. Most of the companies were already phased out – Atari, Coleco, NEC, Sega, etc, but there are currently still two adventurous companies who dare to compete head-on with the Big Three. Mattel is back with its Hyperscan console after disappearing from the industry for three decades. Marketed to young boys of the age of five to nine, it was only available for a year before they were taken off the shelf in 2007. The PC World Magazine ranked it the 7th worst video game system of all time.

On the other hand, the EVO Smart Console (2008) looks to be more promising with its HD graphics, internet access, 120GB hard drive and 2GB RAM. Also a Media PC, it is the first Linux Open Source game console. However, for some strange reason, the console’s official website is no longer available and is not even indicated in Envisions’ website. Video Game Consoles timeline | World History Project Video Game Consoles timeline The Magnavox Odyssey is the world's first home video game console. It was first demonstrated in May, 24th, 1972 and released that fall, predating... Read more 1976 The Telstar is a series of video game consoles produced by Coleco from 1976 to 1978. Starting with Telstar Pong clone based on General Instrument's... Read more Oct 1977 The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and...

Read more 1979 The Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the... Read more Nov 1982 The Atari 5200 SuperSystem, or simply the Atari 5200, is a video game console that was introduced in 1982 by Atari Inc. as a replacement for the... Read more Dec 1982 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is an adventure video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600 video game console. It was based on... Read more May 1984 The Atari 7800 ProSystem, or simply the Atari 7800, is a video game console re-released by Atari Corporation in June 1986. The original release had... Read more 1985 R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) is an accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in July 1985 in Japan as the Famicom Robot...

Read more Oct 18 1985 The Nintendo Entertainment System (abbreviated to NES or Nintendo) is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America,... Read more Oct 1987 The Sega Master System is an 8-bit cartridge-based video game console that was manufactured by Sega and was first released in 1986. Its original... Read more Aug 14 1989 The Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988 and Europe in 1990. The console was released in Europe and... Read more Aug 29 1989 The TurboGrafx-16 (in full, the TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem), known in Japan as the PC Engine (PCエンジン, Pīshī Enjin), is a video game... Read more 1990 The Neo Geo is a cartridge-based arcade and home video game system released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK. The hardware featured...

Read more Oct 6 1990 The Sega Game Gear is a handheld game console which was Sega's response to Nintendo's Game Boy. It was the third commercially available color... Read more Aug 1991 he Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES (also called SNES and Super Nintendo) is a 16-bit video game console that was released by... Read more Oct 15 1992 The Sega CD is an add-on device for the Genesis video game console, designed and produced by Sega and released in Europe, Australia, New Zealand,... Read more Nov 18 1993 The Atari Jaguar is a video game console, released by Atari Corporation in 1993. It was designed to surpass the Mega Drive/Genesis and the Super... Read more Nov 1994 The Sega 32X, codenamed Project Mars, is an add-on for the Sega Genesis video game console by Sega. In Japan, it was distributed under the name...

Read more May 11 1995 The Sega Saturn (セガサターン, Sega Satān) is a 32-bit video game console that was first released on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North... Read more Jul 21 1995 Nintendo's Virtual Boy (バーチャルボーイ, Bācharu Bōi (also known as the VR-32 during development) was the first portable game console capable of... Read more Sep 9 1995 The PlayStation (abbreviated PS, PSone, PS1, or PSX due to its internal code name PlayStation eXperimental) is a 32-bit fifth generation video game... Read more Sep 29 1996 During the developmental stages the N64 was referred to by its code name, Project Reality. The name Project Reality came from the speculation... Read more Sep 9 1999 The Dreamcast (ドリームキャスト, Dorīmukyasuto) is the last video game console made by Sega, and is the successor to the Sega Saturn.

The Dreamcast is part... Read more Oct 26 2000 The PlayStation 2 (often shortened to PS2) is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony. The successor to the PlayStation, and the... Read more Nov 15 2001 History of handheld game consoles | Encyclopedia Gamia | Fandom powered by Wikia History of handheld game consoles 27,261pages on Microvision (1979) Microvision The world's first handheld console was released in 1979 by Milton Bradley. Microvision was designed by Jay Smith, designer of the Vectrex system. Despite the system's initial success, it was gone from the market by 1981, due to the small selection of games and plethora of technical problems. Also, though it had a total of nine buttons with a different button configuration for each game, the button panel was delicate and could be damaged easily. To make things worse, the screen was really tiny, hence the name Microvision. Game & Watch (1980) Donkey Kong JR.

(New Wide Screen), 1982 on Game & Watch The Game & Watch series was a handheld electronic games made by Nintendo and created by its game designer Gunpei Yokoi from 1980 to 1991. Most featured a single game that could be played on an LCD screen, in addition to a clock and an alarm. Most titles had a 'GAME A' and a 'GAME B' button. Game B is usually a faster, more difficult version of game A. Game Boy (1989) The Game Boy was first introduced in 1989 as a pretty big, pretty plain, colorless portable game console. Four AA batteries got this puppy going for almost 20 hours of gameplay. And the only way to get stereo sound off the Game Boy was if you plugged in some headphones (only has one tiny speaker). Game Boy's software library included some of the best games of all time though like Tetris and Pokémon. Lynx (1989) The Lynx was a handheld game console released by Atari in 1989. The Lynx holds the distinction of being the world's first handheld electronic game with a color LCD display.

The system is also notable for its forward-looking features, advanced graphics, and ambidextrous layout. The Lynx was released in 1989, the same year as Nintendo's (monochromatic) Game Boy. However, the Lynx failed to achieve the critical mass required to attract quality third party developers, and was eventually abandoned. Game Gear (1991) Game Gear Work began on the console in 1989 under the codename "Project Mercury", as per Sega's policy at the time of codenaming their systems after planets. The system was released in Japan on October 6, 1990, in North America and Europe in 1991, and in Australia in 1992. The launch price was $149.99. Over 250 titles were released worldwide for the Game Gear, although at the time of the console's launch there were only six software titles available. Sega made sure that a wide variety of video game genres were represented on the system, in order to give it a broad appeal. Prices for game cartridges initially ranged from $24.99 to $29.99 each.

TurboExpress (1991) The TurboExpress is a handheld video game console, released by NEC in 1991. It is portable version of the TurboGrafx-16 home console that came TurboExpress Watara Supervision (1992) The Watara Supervision is a monochrome handheld game console, originating from Hong Kong, and introduced in 1992 as a cut-price competitor for Nintendo's Game Boy. It came packaged with a game called Crystball, which is similar to Breakout. The console has a slightly larger screen and larger buttons, and its games sold for far less than the Game Boy's. The games were simpler than the Game Boy's, and the console did not sell well. The original design for the console changed significantly through several iterations, and the last Supervisions were sold in 1996. The Mega Duck (also known as Cougar Boy) is a handheld game console that was produced by Hong Kong-based Welback Holdings through its Timlex International division and came on the market in 1993.

Cougar Boy/Mega Duck Virtual Boy (1994) Virtual Boy Nintendo's Virtual Boy was the first portable game console capable of displaying "true 3D graphics." Most video games are forced to use monocular cues to achieve the illusion of three dimensions on a two-dimensional screen, but the Virtual Boy was able to create a more accurate illusion of depth through an effect known as parallax. In a manner similar to using a head-mounted display, the user places their face inside a pair of rubber goggles on the front of the machine, and then an eyeglass-style projector allows viewing of the monochromatic (in this case, black and red) image. It was released on July 21, 1995 in Japan and August 14, 1995 in North America and at a price of around US$180. It met with a lukewarm reception that was unaffected by continued price drops. Nintendo discontinued it the following year. Neo Geo Pocket (1996) The Neo Geo Pocket was SNK's first hand held video game system, released in Japan in late 1998.

However lower than expected sales resulted in its discontinuation in 1999, and was immediately succeeded by the Neo Geo Pocket Color. The system only had a retail release within the Japan and Hong Kong market. Game.com (1997) Game.com The Game.com was a handheld game console released by Tiger Electronics in September 1997. It featured many new ideas for handheld consoles and was aimed at an older target audience, sporting PDA-style features and functions such as a touch screen and stylus. However, Tiger hoped it would also challenge Nintendo's Game Boy and gain a following among younger gamers too. Unlike other handheld game consoles, the first game.com consoles included two slots for game cartridges and could be connected to a 14.4 kbit/s modem. Later models reverted to a single cartridge slot. File:GameBoyColor.jpg The Game Boy Color was a response to pressure from game developers for a new and much more sophisticated system of playing, as they felt that the Game Boy, even in its latest incarnation, the Game Boy Pocket, was insufficient. The resultant product was backward compatible, a first for a handheld console system, and leveraged the large library of games and great installed base of the predecessor system.

This became a major feature of the Game Boy line, since it allowed each new launch to begin with a significantly larger library than any of its competitors. The processor, which is an 8080 workalike made by Sharp with a few extra (bit manipulation) instructions, has a clock speed of approx. 8 MHz, twice as fast as that of the original Game Boy. The Game Boy Color also has four times as much memory as the original. WonderSwan (1999) WonderSwan is a handheld game console released in Japan by Bandai in 1999. It was developed by the late Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto and Bandai. The WonderSwan was made to compete with the Neo Geo Pocket Color and the market leader Nintendo's Game Boy Color (even though the developer for the WonderSwan, Gunpei Yokoi, developed the original Nintendo Game Boy). The WonderSwan was later replaced by the WonderSwan Color. Although some WonderSwan Color games are compatible with the original WonderSwan, many are designed exclusively for the WonderSwan Color and show a message such as "This cartridge is for WonderSwan Color only" when run on the original WonderSwan.

Game Boy Advance (2001) Game Boy Advance (GBA) is much faster, has better graphics and better sound (hence the name Advance, you catchin’ on?) And you can network up to four Game Boy Advance units together for multiplayer gameplay on one shared cartridge. What’s not new (and that’s a good thing) is the wide selection of Game Boy games. Since the Game Boy Advance system is backwards-compatible, it can play its own line of games like Super Mario Advance, as well as all games that have already been released for the Game Boy system. N-Gage (2003) N-Gage The N-Gage is a mobile telephone and handheld game system based on the Nokia Series 60 platform. It started selling on October 7, 2003. It attempted to lure gamers away from the Game Boy Advance by including cellphone functionality. This was unsuccessful, partly because the buttons, designed for a phone, were not well-suited for gaming and when used as a phone the original N-Gage was described as resembling a "taco". In 2005, Nokia announced that it would move its N-Gage games capabilities onto a series of smartphones.

These devices are available since early 2007, and games will be ready for download from the official web site starting from November. Gameking (2003) The GameKing is an 8-bit handheld game console produced by the Chinese company TimeTop since 2003. It is based around a 65C02 CPU running at 6.0 MHz and exists in two variations, the original GameKing and the GameKing II, with mostly aesthetic and ergonomic differences. The consoles have above-average sound circuitry capable of multi-channel music and digital sound playback, but have quite inexplicably been equipped with an incredibly poor quality black and white LCD screen, only supporting four shades of grey and having a very low (48 by 32 pixels) resolution, combined with a slow refresh rate, poor readability and adjustments, compared to the original Game Boy. The quality of its games, graphics wise, can be compared to some of the best built-in cell phone games (excluding Java games), while their playing speed (scrolling etc.) and audio is far superior to those found on cell phones (multi-channel music and digitized samples and voices are quite common in GameKing games).

Nintendo DS (2004) Nintendo DS In November 2003, Nintendo announced that it would be creating a new console for release in 2004. It said that it would not be the successor to the Nintendo GameCube or the Game Boy Advance SP. On January 20, 2004, the console was announced under the codename "Nintendo DS". Nintendo chose to release very few details at that time, only saying that the console would have two separate 3 in. TFT LCD display panels, separate processors, and up to 1 gigabit of semiconductor memory. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said "We have developed Nintendo DS based upon a completely different concept from existing game devices in order to provide players with a unique entertainment experience for the 21st century." In March, the codename was changed to "Nitro" and a document containing most of the console's technical specifications was leaked. In May, the codename was changed back to "Nintendo DS" (DS standing for Dual Screen) and the console was shown in prototype form at E3. All of the features of the console were released by Nintendo at E3.

On July 28, 2004, Nintendo revealed a new design, one that was described as "sleeker and more elegant" than the one shown at E3. The codename "Nintendo DS" became the official name of the console that day. PSP (2004-05) PSP The PlayStation Portable is a handheld game console released and currently manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment. Its development was first announced during E3 2003, and it was officially unveiled on May 11, 2004 at a Sony press conference before E3 2004. The system was released in Japan on December 12, 2004, the United States and Canada on March 24, 2005 and in Europe and Australia on September 1, 2005. It is considered the first handheld video game system to use an optical disc format (Universal Media Disc). A new slimmer and lighter version of the PlayStation Portable, titled Slim and Lite, was announced on July 11, 2007 and Sony's press conference at E3 2007.

It will be available in the US, Europe and Japan in September 2007 with various colours and a very different box packaging to the current PSP. Among these versions three were physically shown at E3 2007: a white version with a Star Wars imprint, a piano black version and an ice silver version. Gizmondo (2005) The Gizmondo handheld video game unit. United States and British coins included for scale. The Gizmondo was a handheld gaming console with GPRS and GPS technology, which was manufactured by Tiger Telematics. Launched in 2005, the Gizmondo sold poorly, and by February of 2006 the company discontinued the Gizmondo and was forced into bankruptcy. Gizmondo was overshadowed by Stefan Eriksson's involvement in organized crime. The Gizmondo includes a GPS module for in-car navigation which could also be used to track player movement in real-time for multiplayer games. It also contains a 0.3 Megapixel VGA camera mounted on the rear of the device. The Gizmondo can play MP3/WAV/MIDI music, WMV/MPEG4 videos and a variety of 2D/3D games.

It can send email and even SMS/MMS messages, although it lacks the ability to send or receive voice calls. GP2X (2005) GP2X Released on November 10, 2005 in South Korea, the GP2X was designed to play video and music, view photos, and play games. It has an open architecture (Linux based), allowing anybody to develop and run software. Also, there is the possibility for additional features (such as support for new media formats) to be added in the future due to the upgradeable firmware. A popular use of the GP2X is to run emulators, which allow one to use software from another system on the GP2X. PS4 & PlayStation Vita Video Game Consoles | PlayStation | Sony US Visit PlayStation.com PlayStation®Store Be the First to Play. Download PlayStation® games and add-ons, watch movies, and more, for your PS4™, PS3™, and PS Vita. PlayStation™Video Easy access to the latest blockbuster movies, independents, classics, and TV hits. Watch across your favorite devices. Learn More PlayStation™Music Millions of songs on demand!

Personalize your gaming soundtrack on PS4™ with Spotify, now available on PlayStation™Music. Learn More Go for greatness Unmatched content, gaming, apps, and exclusives make PlayStation®4 system the Best Place to Play. And with the fastest processor and memory on the market, the PS4™ moves gaming to a new level. Explore PS4™ Breaking boundaries How did Sony prepare to earn the title of “World’s best console”? By starting from the ground up. Beginning with the 8-core AMD Jaguar processor—then turbocharged it for maximum performance. And the 1.84 TFLOPS graphics chip and leading-edge GDDR5 RAM give developers unrivalled potential for next-generation games. Gamers, start your engines Faster processor. Burlier graphics card. Top-of-the-line RAM. State-of-the-art technology, tuned by Sony’s dedicated PlayStation® engineers, offers a new level of smooth, immersive, and seamless gameplay. Familiar feel, richer experience Updated controls Keep tight control over your game with improved dual analog sticks, trigger buttons, and a new capacitive touch pad. Lightbar See opponents’ health and other key game info at a glance with the 4-color LED light that is synced to game actions.

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Find what you’re looking for and get it at the touch of a button. *Additional subscription fees may apply. Break free of annual contracts, surprise fees and TV that ties you down. With PlayStation™Vue get the live TV you love: your favorite channels without a pesky annual contract. PS Now is the subscription service that lets you stream over 400 PS3 games to your PS4 and Windows PC. Start your 7-day free trial today. New release movies without the wait: most movies before, or same day as DVD. Plus TV shows everyone’s talking about.. Access all the movies and TV shows purchased or rented from PlayStation® Store on web, Android and select other devices. Millions of songs on demand with Spotify. Stream Spotify and play on your PS4™ console, with background listening to control the soundtrack your game. With Spotify Connect, you can change your music while you game without pausing play. PlayStation Accessories Push the boundaries of play with DualShock®4, and enhance your games with PlayStation Headsets. DualShock 4 The DualShock®4 Wireless Controller for PlayStation®4 defines this generation of play, combining revolutionary features and comfort with intuitive, precision controls.

Evolved analog sticks and trigger buttons allow for unparalleled accuracy with every move while innovative technologies offer exciting ways to experience your games and share your greatest moments.

Question: What was the name of Sony’s first game console?
Answer: Play Station